Fiction Tips

At one of our writers’ group meetings last year, we talked about minor characters, and our discussion has stuck in my mind.
When I create standard minor characters and walk-ons, such as the main character’s best friend, the waitress at the diner, and the car salesman, I look for opportunities to ...

Change is hard; we all resist it. It’s vital to be aware of this fact of human nature when it comes to setting fiction writing goals. A writer in our writing group recently wondered whether she was “meant to be a writer” because she had to force herself to set goals. When she did set goals, she ...

In a recently writers’ group meeting the five of us who are fighting the battle of the indie author discussed why we feel that we’re “not doing enough.” When you’re an indie, there’s just you. You make all the decisions, and if your self-publishing program falters or flounders, you may feel that ...

If you’re writing fiction, sooner or later someone will tell you that your flashbacks are unnecessary — they’re ruining your novel. That’s because your flashbacks bring your story to a halt. They kill the pace of your novel, and you lose readers.
Readers just want to know what happens next. They ...

What if you could write a novel which pre-sold your next novel? And future novels too? A series of novels can do that. Series fiction is hugely popular. For an example, look no further than the uber-successful Harry Potter series.
There’s big challenge in writing a series of novels however: ...

Got a novel you’ve set on the backburner? Perhaps you have an almost-done novel, or a novel you started and gave up on. There’s no need to give up: you can rescue your novel, and complete it.
I’m currently rescuing a half-completed novel; I stopped writing it when I got busy in the weeks before ...